LETTERS: Snow, ice, buses made SCPA inaccessible

Snowfeature Metro Tuesday January 5, 2014: City of Cincinnati Public Services Worker Plow Plum Street into front of City Hall Tuesday January 5, 2014 in Downtown, Cincinnati. City of Cincinnati Public Services Workers are going street to street removing tons of snow in Downtown, Cincinnati. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II

As a resident of Cincinnati, I am distraught. I am concerned about the lack of safety for our school students during terrible weather. I had to take my granddaughter to the School for Creative and Preforming Arts on Thursday because her school bus was either 15 or more minutes late - or didn't come at all.

I had no trouble getting her there until I was on the side street by her school. Three of the side streets were covered with ice and snow so thick I had difficulty keeping the car on the road; not even the weight of the school buses could break through the crust. I also could not find a safe spot to drop her off, except in the front of the school.

When approaching a safe area, I was amongst a row of school buses. When I pulled up to the sidewalk I was immediately waved away by a school official, informing me that I could not stop there. Well, there was no other place to stop.

Is the safety of my grandchild not as important as those on a yellow bus? The snow was packed so high along the sidewalks of the school that there was no place for her to walk toward the school entrance. I ended up having to leave her off from the right hand lane of the city street with traffic piling up behind me. Fortunately no one decided to pass me on the right side or she could have been hit by a car or a school bus.

I believe that the city has some control about how roads are cleared and salted during storms. Are our schoolchildren a priority? Obviously these streets where neither salted or plowed.

The SCPA area was not a safe place for children. Because of these safety issues the school should have remained closed.

Nancy Ratz, Sayler Park

Plows shouldn't pile snow on cleared sidewalks

Winter weather creates difficulties for both drivers on the streets and pedestrians who must use our sidewalks.

At times this winter when shoveling the sidewalk in front of my business, I have been hit by snow and slush thrown by passing city snow plows, and other times have appreciated city snow plows that slow down to not foul a cleared sidewalk.

After the winter storm Tuesday night, a couple hours of hard shoveling was needed on Wednesday to clear my sidewalk and nearby bus stop. It was very frustrating to find that during the night snow and ice had been thrown onto the sidewalk and up to 10 feet off the curb by a snow plow traveling at higher speed.

It would be nice if a balance could be struck between clearing the street and not fouling cleared sidewalks.

Don Stephan, Madisonville

More cops isn't the answer to crime problem

Hiring more cops is nothing more than a Band-Aid ("City plans to add $1M for more cops now," Feb. 3).

I simply cannot begin to tell you how sick and tired I am at the obvious lack of brains in America anymore when it comes to things such as crime.

How can intelligent people honestly think hiring more cops will prevent any crimes? Just as with anti-gun nuts thinking taking guns away will prevent murders, this solution is no less comical to me.

America has a serious moral problem. We have a human problem. Not a gun problem, not a cop problem. We have a mean human problem. Hiring more cops will do nothing but make our taxes go up and response times possibly go down.

"Response times." Cops respond to crimes, they do not stop them, or at least the vast majority of them.

I respect the police, but this is simply a stupid answer to a human issue.

Paul E. Jones, Green Township

Marketplace Fairness Act would burden e-retailers

As the executive director of WE R HERE, a coalition of small web-enabled retailers, I was disappointed to read the letter "Marketplace Fairness Act would bring tax revenue" (Jan. 22), supporting the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Small e-retailers already pay taxes where they're based; the MFA would unleash tax collectors on the Internet to audit out-of-state businesses, and force small e-retailers to collect taxes for over 10,000 jurisdictions.

This is precisely why the House judiciary chairman says one of the principles that should be embodied in any legislation is no regulation without representation.

MFA supporters claim they're looking out for the little guy, but the legislation is backed by retail behemoths like Wal-Mart and Amazon, and the bill is nothing more than a cleverly disguised attempt to squash these firms' small competitors.

Phil Bond, Alexandria, Va. ■

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LETTERS: Snow, ice, buses made SCPA inaccessible

As a resident of Cincinnati, I am distraught. I am concerned about the lack of safety for our school students during terrible weather.